Firstly, allow me to congratulate Your Excellency and your Bureau on your election. The Fiji Delegation assures you of its full support and cooperation, and welcomes the special theme for this forty-eighth session of the Commission on Population and Development.

Madam President, Fiji aligns with the statement delivered by South Africa on behalf of G77 and China.

At the United Nations today, the foundation meeting of the Group of Friends of Oceans and Seas was held. The group is made up of UN Ambassadors dedicated to ensuring the well-being of oceans and seas.

The Permanent Representative of Fiji, Ambassador Peter Thomson, was appointed as one of the group's five Co-Chairs (one for each of the five regional groups of the United Nations). The other Co-Chairs are the Permanent Representatives of Senegal, Estonia, Grenada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Let me firstly congratulate you for taking the helm of this Informal Consultative Process. You can be assured of the Fiji Delegation's full support throughout this meeting.

At the outset, Fiji aligns itself with the statements delivered by South Africa on behalf of G77 and China, by Malidives on behalf of AOSIS and by the Kingdom of Tonga on behalf of PSIDS. Allow me Co-Chairs to also thank the Secretary-General and those concerned, particularly DOALOS, for the comprehensive report that ties in well with this year's theme.